


Little Lotte

by TinyNerdsbian



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Also Warehouse Shenanigans, Bering and Wells, Did I Mention Fluff, F/F, I LIIIIIIIIVE, also, and cooking, fluff-tastic, it's a vertible fluff fest, with a fun dash of action
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-08 02:08:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyNerdsbian/pseuds/TinyNerdsbian
Summary: A fic I started years ago and posted on FF.net. Re-editing and posting here, and finally adding to it!! HUZZAH. FINALLY. (yes I have been renewed and resurrected by DragonCon)Set in Season 4/5-ish, after Instinct, but basically just ignoring the ridiculousness that was Season 5.The agents get a visit from the future, time travel is now a physical possibility! Thanks, Warehouse! They must work together to stop a new dictator, but is this visitor a friend or foe, for she is not who she claims to be.This piece is generally fluffier than a fluffernutter sandwich, prepare for some action, some silliness, and fluff so sweet you'll get a cavity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I, sadly, don't own Warehouse. Otherwise, we all know who would be canon.

Adwin Kosan set his focus on the girl sitting opposite him, realizing that the worry he feels stems from his affection for her, coupled with the risk of an untested artifact. Though neither an official agent, or even an apprentice, Charlotte knew about the artifact they were after and the problem it was already creating. There was a new dictator in town working his way through Europe, who now had his eyes set on the Americas. The past was the answer.

"You understand the risks?" He asked.

She smiled at him warmly and answered with a slight nod.

"And you understand your mission?"

"Use the artifact to travel back to December 2013 and retrieve the lyre before it falls into Koychev's hands," she relayed back to him in a soft English accent.

After a short nod, Kosan stood up and made his way to the door, closely followed by Charlotte.

"Are you sure it has to be her?" said a concerned voice almost immediately. "I mean she's just a kid."

Charlotte walked over to her mother, holding her face in her hands. "I'll be fine mom. I'm 23."

"You're still my baby."

Charlotte pulled her mother into a tight hug, drawing comfort for them both. Myka took a deep breath and stepped away from her daughter, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Be careful," she whispered before placing a small kiss on the tip of Charlotte's nose receiving a nod and a reassuring smile in return.

They turned to see Kosan pulling on the standard issue purple gloves, then taking a necklace out of a small wooden box.

"Research conducted on this artifact leads us to believe that you will be in the past for eighteen days, nine hours and one minute," Kosan stated.

"One minute?" Charlotte asked, chuckling.

"We think the date 1891 holds a significant meaning for this particular piece," Jane responded. Charlotte nodded her understanding, being quite familiar with the necklace.

"Above all, you must be sure to keep your true identity to yourself," Claudia said seriously.

"What if I slip?" Charlotte asked. "We all know how my mouth tends to escape me at times," she finished with a grin, though there was an underlying seriousness in her tone.

"Should you expose your identity, you may show this," Mr. Kosan said, handing her a DVD in a jewel case. "But be absolutely sure to keep it a private viewing."

Charlotte nodded, placing the DVD in her bag, then taking a deep breath, she gave Myka one last hug before turning back to Kosan.

"To use the artifact, put it around your neck, and think of where you want to travel to. You must remember to never take it off; it **must** remain on your person at all times."

She nodded, taking the necklace and pulling it over her head. She held the pendant in both hands, picturing the calendar date in her mind. She took a low, calming breath and shut her eyes, saying the desired arrival date in her mind over and over: December 15, 2013.

 

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the warehouse office in front of a younger version of her mother, along with Mr. Kosan, looking exactly the same, and a woman she knew from her childhood teachings to be Mrs. Fredric.

"I trust your journey was free of complications?" Mr. Kosan asked.

"Everything seems to be in order," Charlotte answered as she was patting herself down, then wiggling her fingers.

"Agent Bering, this is Charlotte Bell. She will be assisting the warehouse in the search for Orpheus's Lyre," Mrs. Fredric began, turning to Myka. "She has a unique insight into the effects of this particular artifact. You two will be working closely due to your mutual literary knowledge," she finished, shooting Charlotte with her best "don't screw this up" look.

Charlotte stepped forward presenting an outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you, Agent Bering, I'm sure we'll get on fabulously," shaking Myka's hand.

"Nice to meet you as well, can't wait to get started, Myka responded.

"Shall we then?" Charlotte asked enthusiastically.

Unable to hold back her smile, Myka simply nodded, only momentarily pausing to question the familiarity of the smile, she then turned toward the table littered with books and randomly scattered papers, gesturing for Charlotte to join her.

"We'll leave you to it," Mrs. Fredric said to the two women who had already begun working, before vanishing with Mr. Kosan.

 

 

Two hours later found the table in further disarray, though slowly falling into controlled chaos. They had gone through the various books and documents learning as much as they could about the lyre, its history and its whereabouts throughout history, compiling them into different categories and piles, so they could inform the rest of the team.

Just as Myka put the last paper in its proper place and Charlotte pulled off her glasses to rub her eyes, Pete, Claudia, and Steve stepped out of the umbilicus. Charlotte groaned, pulling her curly hair out of a messy bun and launched herself forward from the back of the chair while rubbing her sore scalp. Her deeply engrained manners getting the better of her caused her to replace her glasses and offer her hand to the newcomers.

"Hello everyone,” she said, shaking everyone's hand. " I'm Charlotte Bell. I'm here to help you find this nasty artifact."

"Well hello there," Pete said with the flirtiest voice in his repertoire. "Perhaps we could get together and discuss the wonders of the future."

"And nope," Charlotte said almost immediately. "Sorry Pete, business only."

"Soooo…you're from the future?" Claudia asked, her sheer giddiness overpowering Pete's sulking. "What's it like? Androids? Flying cars? Please tell me there are at least robots."

Charlotte smiled, happy to know that Claudia had not changed much, despite her position as Caretaker. "Unfortunately, Claudia, I'm afraid there is not much I am at liberty to divulge, but I'd love to sit down with you to discuss the gadgets you frequently use on missions."

"Oh you'll 'sit down' with her," Pete mumbled, still sulking.

Charlotte turned to Pete with a gentle smile, knowing the one way to get him out of a funk almost immediately. "I'm sorry, darling. I understand you’re quite the fan of cookies, what if we bake you some when we snag this thing, hmm?"

Pete's eyes lit up at the prospect of fresh baked cookies and nodded with a boyish smile. "Yeah, I could work with that."

Both Pete and Claudia seemed pleased with these prospective outcomes and sat down at the table. With everyone seated, Charlotte noticed an empty seat and glanced at Myka questioningly. "She's always late," Myka explained. "We can start without her." Turning to address the other three, she began. "So, we're looking for Orpheus's Lyre."

"Who's this Orpheus guy?" Pete interrupted.

"He's the – "

"Son of –," Myka and Charlotte answered simultaneously. Myka chuckled and signaled for Charlotte to go on.

"He is the son of King Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. The muses gave him the lyre and taught him how to use it."

"The lyre was said to have certain special properties," Myka continued. "The myth states that trees, rocks and all types of nature would move to the will of the lyre."

At that moment was when H.G. decided to walk in, having the decency to look the slightest bit guilty while making her way to the empty seat.

"How nice of you to join us, Helena," Myka said more amused than annoyed.

"So sorry darling, I was working on something and time escaped me," H.G. apologized, displaying her most charming of smiles.

Myka grinned slightly and then carried on. "The legend goes on to tell the story of Orpheus rescuing his wife Eurydice from the Underworld. Hades allowed this only if Orpheus never looked back at his wife. As he played the lyre, she followed him through the Underworld, once he was through the gates, he looked back, but Eurydice hadn't made it to the gates left and he lost her forever. This leads us to believe that it may hold a sway over humans as well."

"Wait. Zombies?!" Pete asked with a mixture of excitement and fear.

"Fortunately…or unfortunately, it may seem," Charlotte interceded, chuckling at Pete's reaction. "Not in the sense you're thinking, more along the lines of mindless drones, without the flesh-eating aspect."

"We know the lyre started in Greece, making its way to Lesbos," this caused Pete to giggle, Myka to glare, and the other four to quickly cover their grins. " **Anyway** , Orpheus's death led to the lyre ending up in Lesbos. After that, the trail gets a little fuzzy. We know it found its way to Germany in the 1930's."

"Wait…Hitler?" Claudia asked slightly astonished.

"How else do you think a scrawny twerp could gain control over an entire country?" Pete answered.

"It would appear the lyre is drawn to charismatic personalities," Charlotte explained further.

"Where is it now?" H.G. asked, finally joining the conversation.

"We believe it's on its way to Russia, if it isn't there already," Myka answered, then signaling to Charlotte to take the floor for the rest of the briefing.

"The man we're looking for is Alexi Koychev," Charlotte began, her tone turning serious. "Presently, he is merely your average middle-aged soldier. In my time, he rules most of Europe, parts of Africa, and has set his sights on the Americas. He started his rule this Christmas, in Paris.”

"So, we have ten days to stop this," Pete said unenthusiastically.

"Essentially," Charlotte responded in matched tone. "But we have the upper hand."

"C'mon Pete," H.G. pepped up, obviously excited. "We've solved harder tasks in half the time!"

"Let's not waste anymore," Myka added.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here come the pings and off to action! Lets snag this artifact, y'all!

The team spent the next few hours poring over various historical texts, attempting to plot the lyre's movement through history, including Alexander the Great, Xerxes and the Persian Army, Napoleon, and Hitler.

"How could the lyre reach all of these different places?" Pete asked looking down the list of possible owners.

"Artifacts often have a way of moving around from place to place, seemingly on their own, swaying anyone holding it to send it particular directions," Charlotte explained. "The lyre is drawn to those with great charisma and ambition. It can be speculated that the lyre somehow found its way into their hands."

"But most of these dudes were bad guys," Claudia added. "Why would the lyre go to them?"

"It is not necessarily a judge of character; it merely feels the pull of their ultimate desires."

"For world domination?" Pete interrupted.

"Many of those who seek to dominate do so because of the lack of control they feel in their own lives."

"How does this Koychev get a hold of it?" H.G. asked

"We don't know where, when, or how, only that his first move is in Paris, Christmas Day," Charlotte explained to H.G. "Looking through various museum inventories across Europe shows that it never made it into one, so it wasn't stolen."

"So, we need to track this guy and his movements," Claudia said, already halfway to the computer.

"Mind if I join you?" Charlotte asked, pulling a laptop from her bag.

Claudia pulled out a chair, clearing a spot on the desk in confirmation. As Charlotte sat and opened her laptop, Claudia glanced over briefly, then again in a double take. Charlotte appeared to be using a MacBook not much older looking than the ones being sold today.

"Sorry to disappoint," Charlotte said noticing Claudia's obvious distaste. "I kind of hacked into Warehouse security when I was six and have been damned to dated technology since." Though she conveniently left out that as Caretaker, Claudia was the one to lay down the harsh punishment.

A new-found respect shined in Claudia's eyes at this revelation, then she smirked at Charlotte. "Shall we then?"

Her only received response was a devious smile from Charlotte, matching the glint in her eyes, and the slightest of nods, while throwing her hair back up in a messy bun. With that, the two girls spun toward their respective screens, throwing the room into the chaotic sound of their fingers striking the keyboard.

 

Artie finally made his appearance about fifteen minutes later, looking decidedly unhappy to see his overly occupied desk. Charlotte's eyes popped up from the screen landing on Artie, which caused her to jump up from her seat and head toward him with an outstretched and.

"Hello! I'm Cha—"

"Yes, I know," Artie said, cutting her off with a look that screamed 'I know  **everything**.'

"Righty-ho, then," Charlotte said, spinning on her heel, grabbing her laptop and taking her previous seat next to Myka, allowing Artie the use of his desk.

 

While Claudia and Charlotte were furiously typing away at their computers, H.G., Myka, Steve, and Pete were continuing their search for traces of the lyre to offer up more clues on its movements, and Artie was finding out as much as he could about the lyre itself and its properties.

After another forty-five minutes, simultaneous alerts could be heard from opposite sides of the room.

"Claudia?" Charlotte asked excitedly.

"Got it."

"You found Koychev?" Myka asked, tearing her eyes away from the page she was reading.

"Just outside of Moscow," Claudia answered.

"In a small motel, after making a substantial purchase at an auction house in town," Charlotte added. "Though residency shows St. Petersburg."

"Alright, Claudia and Steve, you two head to St. Petersburg and check out his place," Artie said, taking charge. "Pete, Myka, and Charlotte will head to the motel for Koychev. H.G., check out the auction house. I'll stay here and hold down the fort."

 

Charlotte wandered the B&B while the others packed for the trip. She had arrived with a small suitcase, though she hadn't expected to be heading out this quickly, she was glad to have this time to look around. Not much had changed from this time to her youth, save for a few broken vases due to an errant soccer ball between her and Pete when she was ten; he still owes her for the two weeks she was grounded for his missed block.

She moved toward the back of the house, leaning against the door frame letting herself get lost in her thoughts and memories.

"Is everything alright?" Myka asked as she entered the room.

"Oh yes, just trapped in my own thoughts," Charlotte answered quietly, slowly turning around. "We all set?" At Myka's nod, Charlotte followed her and the rest of the group out to the car.

As they drove away, her eyes never left the building she was raised in, and yet, she felt so far from her home.

 

For the majority of the group, the flight was smooth and uneventful; for Charlotte, the "aluminum foil death trap" caused her to shriek "must this damned contraption be so jarring?!" at take-off. In her time, planes felt sturdier and were significantly smoother to the point that you hardly noticed you were moving at all, this plane, Charlotte thought, would surely drop out of the sky at any moment.

H.G., who was the closest, both physically and to the mental state of one who is surrounded by things they cannot fully understand, took Charlotte's hand in her left while rubbing her back with her right.

"I know it's alarming, but it will be over soon," H.G. whispered, still rubbing her back. "Once the plane levels out, you'll feel better."

Charlotte nodded her response, afraid to speak and attempting to calm her thundering heart by simply allowing herself to concentrate on the soothing feeling of H.G.'s hand on her back. Soon enough, the plane began to even out, just as H.G. had promised. Once she began to feel a little calmer, Charlotte felt free to release her death grip on H.G.'s hand and open her eyes.

"Thanks," Charlotte mumbled sheepishly.

"No matter, darling," H.G. said, patting her hand. "So, tell me about yourself. Is the future as glorious as they say?"

Charlotte smiled at H.G.'s enthusiasm. "To be honest, it has not appeared to change tremendously, though I do spend much of my time in the Warehouse."

"Doing?"

"Sometimes I help with inventory, or with organizing, but mostly I spend my day 'tinkering' with things, as my Mum would say," Charlotte answered, trying not to get carried away and reveal too much.

"And what exactly do you 'tinker' with?" H.G. asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, I tried my hand at fixing your time machine," Charlotte said quietly, sparing a glance at H.G. and relaxing at her excited stare.

"And?"

"Not quite, but I was close before I was sent back here," Charlotte said, her facial expression matching H.G.'s disappointed one. "Oh! Though I did improve upon your pocket watch!"

"What exactly do you mean by 'improve'?" H.G. asked, attempting to fix the girl with her steeliest glare, but failing due to Charlotte's excited face.

"I added more storage space!" Charlotte beamed.

"How?!" H.G. asked, just as excited.

"Well, your design had the compartments pop out, while mine fold in on themselves, allowing a greater amount of space to occupy a small one."

H.G. could no longer contain herself, "show me."

 

Myka glanced over at the two women and smiled as they both whispered to each other in hushed voices while they scribbled frantically on the newly acquired paper they pestered the flight attendant for. They had gone through roughly fifteen napkins before getting almost hilariously frustrated and slouched down in twin pouts. Myka let them sit and stew for a few minutes before suggesting that they ask the flight attendant for the paper. The flight attendant took one look from the mangled napkins to the two sulking women, turned on her heel and returned with a full legal pad, which H.G. nearly snatched from her hands. With the paper in front of them, they transferred what they could from the demolished napkins and finally able to embellish more. After about fifteen minutes, H.G. threw her arms in the air exclaiming "of course!" ignoring the several pairs of eyes which had turned her way.

What started out with Charlotte showing her the improvements to the pocket watch, shifted to the two of them devising ways to improve it further. Though her eyes were shut, Myka was still grinning at the two of them whispering delightedly. She was roused from her amusement by two different, yet eerily similar, whispers of her name. She let their voices grow more adamant before turning her gaze to find two huge grins underneath what appeared to be blueprints of some sort.

"Myka! It's a pocket watch," she heard H.G.'s voice say from behind the paper.

"But when you push this button," Charlotte's voice chimed in, her finger poking out to indicate the button in question.

"It expands into a bag!" H.G. exclaimed.

"With a hidden compartment for neutralizer!" Charlotte nearly squealed.

Myka was actually quite impressed, along with being seriously amused by their excitement.

"Very impressive, you two," Myka praised. "And it only took forty-five minutes. I can only imagine what you could do with the rest of this flight."

This unintended encouragement sparked a new fire in Charlotte and H.G. "Let's talk about these advancements on my time machine," H.G. said turning back to Charlotte.

"Really?!" the sheer and unadulterated giddiness in Charlotte's voice, and the fact that she was actually bouncing caused Myka to smile again. That and she could tell H.G. was just eating this up.

"Well?"

"Okay!" Charlotte beamed. "I was in the process of fixing the wiring that was fried and was also trying to find a way to prevent it from happening again, or even creating a singular power source for the time machine itself."

"Oh, I'm going to like this one," H.G. said grinning at Myka.

Two hours and another legal pad later, Charlotte and H.G. had figured out the rewiring and even had a slight inkling on how to prevent future incidents, but now they were stuck on creating an alternative power source, as well as a way to maintain said power.

After another thirty minutes of going around in circles, Charlotte put her pen down, and turned to H.G. "Claudia?"

"Claudia."

Before either of them could turn around to consult Claudia on the matter, Myka reached over and grabbed the papers away from the two women.

"Myka!" the two whined in unison.

"We're not going to have time to stop and rest when we land, so you need to do that now," she explained.

"But I'm not even tired! I'll be fine!" Charlotte said quickly, turning to H.G. "Are you tired at all?"

"Nope, completely awake," H.G. answered, never looking away from Myka.

Myka just shook her head, chuckling at the two. She was lucky she loved H.G. because it now seemed like she had two on her hands.

"You two can plot and devise when the mission is finished," Myka said, safely storing their work in her laptop bag. "I'm sure you'll both be asleep in no time."

"Yeah, right."

"Doubtful."

Myka bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from outright laughing at the two pouting figures. She watched Charlotte lean her head against the wall of the plane, and H.G.'s eyes slide shut and placed a gentle kiss on H.G.'s cheek, watching her lips form a small smile. Despite the fact that both held their sulking stance, she was satisfied that they had heeded her word and turned back to the report they had compiled.

 

Myka had gone through the report a couple of times to cement the facts into her mind before closing the file and rubbing her eyes. She opened her laptop bag to put away the file, intending to take her own advice but was momentarily sidetracked by the legal pads. She pulled them out, flipping through the pages; she was amazed that all of this was accomplished in such a small amount of time. 'I can't even imagine what will happen when Claudia joins them,' she thought to herself as she examined the diagrams for the advanced pocket watch. Charlotte didn't seem much older than Claudia, if not the same age, but she was surprised how she was seemingly on the same level of intellect as H.G. She was hoping for a quick finish to this mission, suddenly eager to get to know Charlotte better.

After putting the papers back in their place, she pared a glance over at H.G. and inwardly melted at the sight before her eyes. Charlotte had moved over to H.G., both arms clasped around H.G.'s arm, her head resting on H.G.'s shoulder. In turn, H.G.'s left hand was resting on Charlotte's arm and her cheek on the crown of Charlotte's curly head. Myka suddenly felt warm and cozy like she was looking at a familiar scene.

Taking a cue from Charlotte, Myka curled her feet underneath her, placed her left hand in the crook of H.G.'s arm, and lay her head on H.G.'s free shoulder. H.G.'s eyes fluttered open to the newly added pressure and gently turned her head to glance questioningly at Myka.

Myka leaned forward, placing a small kiss on her lips and whispered, "go back to sleep." After returning the kiss, H.G. slightly adjusted herself, allowing Charlotte to maintain her sleeping position, while also allowing Myka's head to return to her shoulder, her left hand on H.G.'s knee and her right holding her hand.

 

A massive lurch shook Charlotte from her sleep, catapulting her into the nearest stationary object, which just happened to be H.G.'s torso.

"Don't fret, darling," H.G. said rubbing her back. "It's just the plane landing."

"Oh, Lord!" Charlotte yelped, finally realizing just where she was and jumping back. "I'm so sorry!"

"Not to worry," H.G. said smiling reassuringly at Charlotte. "The first time I flew, I nearly clawed Myka's arm off." She finished with a wink.

"Are we in Russia now?" Charlotte asked hopefully.

"Afraid not," H.G. answered apologetically. "Connecting flight from Newark."

"Well, I was thinking," Myka chimed in, noticing the clearly distraught look on Charlotte's face at the prospect of another flight. "For that flight, you, H.G., and Claudia could sit together, maybe work on the time machine while I go over logistics with Steve and Pete."

"I could do that," Charlotte responded, thankful but still trying to regain some dignity. "That is...if it's alright with H.G.…"

"I'm quite looking forward to it."

 

The second flight ran significantly smoother for Charlotte as the first flight had prepared her for the shock of take-off. Her, H.G. and Claudia had compiled a short list of possible power sources for the time machine, the most promising prospect being similar to the Tesla target practice coil. They could make it last a full session with the machine, but it would take just as much time to recharge. They were just about to work on design concepts when Myka turned in her seat and enforced another mandatory nap. She was hit, this time, with three simultaneous whines of "Myka!" but stood her ground. Both Myka and the three women knew they were dancing on the edge of exhaustion, and they began to put the papers away after jotting some shorthand notes, so they would not forget their plans. Claudia opted to switch seats with Myka, mainly so she and H.G. could be together, but also because being around Steve was a much-needed comfort.

H.G. was once again in the middle, and Myka snuggled up to her almost instantly. Charlotte had her head resting against the wall of the plane when she felt a tugging on her shirt sleeve. She looked down to find Myka's fingers grasping the material of her jacket and pulling her toward the snuggling duo, silently inviting her to join in their snuggle fest. She momentarily fought the urge to instantly join, not sure if it was a wise choice, but caving as Myka pulled her sleeve in their direction once more. Myka herself, not being entirely sure as to why she was doing this, but her body was running almost on instinct, as if Charlotte belonged with them. Charlotte shifted her body, placing her head, once again on H.G.’s shoulder, welcomed with a quiet "Why hello there, darling," and closed her eyes, a smile planted firmly on her face.

 

An hour later, Claudia, unable to stay asleep for an extended amount of time, got up to use the lavatory and stretch her legs, glanced over to the group behind her. What greeted her eyes was nothing short of precious; H.G. sat in the middle, flanked by Myka on her left, her head on H.G.'s shoulder, both hands holding H.G.'s, and Charlotte on her right, her legs tucked in front of her, with her head sandwiched between H.G.'s arm and the back of the seat. Claudia paused a moment in an attempt to conceive how in the world that could be even remotely comfortable but couldn't help the huge grin growing on her face, as well as the intense disappointment in herself for not bringing a camera. She left the pleasantly slumbering group in peace and continued on her destination to the bathroom.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heya, a two-fer! I'm hoping to keep 'em coming quick and often because the majority is written, just needs to be edited!
> 
>  
> 
> It's an Intel grabbing chapter! Join the team as they split up and try to find out what this dude's got up his sleep!

Upon their arrival in Russia, the team split up almost immediately; summoning two taxis for Steve and Claudia's trip to the train station and onward to St. Petersburg, H.G. had her shorter trip to the auction house, and Pete, Myka, and Charlotte loaded everyone's luggage into their rental car.

Before climbing into their respective vehicles, H.G. and Myka shared a hushed conversation; Myka's hands gripping H.G.'s, the anxiety sketched clearly across her face. H.G.'s face held a reassuring smile, though her eyes allowed a small amount of her own anxiety to show through. H.G. brushed her thumbs across Myka's knuckles in a calming manner, and then pulled her close, gently kissing her. Myka pulled her hands free to move them around H.G.'s waist, effectively holding their bodies together. After a few small pecks and a short pause, Myka released her relentless hold on H.G. and watched her climb into the backseat of the taxi.

Myka remained in the same spot, taking a moment to gather herself, letting the fear and anxiety flow from her body, and after another moment making her way to the rental car. Pete was waiting in the driver's seat and Charlotte in the back passenger seat, allowing Myka shotgun. The young woman could see a slight panic still evident in Myka's demeanor, and leaned forward, lightly placing a reassuring hand on Myka's shoulder. She smiled at the sweetness of Charlotte's small gesture, giving the hand a slight squeeze before it was pulled away. As Pete pulled out into traffic, Myka rested her head against the headrest in an attempt to relax on their short journey to the motel.

 

Claudia and Steve pulled in front of Koychev's small apartment in St. Petersburg; after paying the taxi driver, they made their way to the front door, teslas out but not charged. Despite knowing of his recent lodgings, the two agents approached the door cautiously. Steve put his back against the door frame, using his free hand to knock quickly on the door. After waiting the complimentary few minutes, the two agents heard only silence, causing Claudia to turn to Steve with a huge grin on her face.

"Can I, Jinksy," Claudia asked, almost begging. "Please?"

Steve, in turn, didn't bother trying to hide his smile at Claudia's eagerness, she never stopped being exactly like his sister. He stepped away from the door frame, keeping the smile on his face while granting Claudia her wish with a small nod.

Claudia's satisfied grin quickly faded into a serious, concentrated line. She shook out her arms and legs, and then made a show of unnecessarily cracking her neck. Steve bit his bottom lip to keep himself from laughing out loud at her antics, which now consisted of bouncing on her toes. She took a few steps toward the door, and after a few deep breaths, she raised her leg, sending all her strength through her leg, resulting in the door flying open.

"Woo!" Claudia yelled, throwing her hands in the air. "I've always wanted to do that!"

Steve laughed and shook his head while returning the offered high five before following Claudia into the empty apartment.

 

"Hello, sir," Helena said, quickly flashing her badge to the man at the counter. "I'm Agent Wells, I'm here to talk to someone about the recent purchase by a Mr. Alexi Koychev?"

"And how does this concern the United States Secret Service?" The man at the desk asked in a thick Russian accent.

"My agency is simply keeping eyes on this man and likes to check in on hefty purchases."

The man gave H.G. an additional once over before picking up his phone, speaking quick Russian to the person on the other end of the line.

‘Now wishing I took Myka up on those Russian lessons,’ H.G. thought, casually twiddling her thumbs.

Once the man hung up the phone, he proceeded to ignore H.G. entirely. She stood at the desk for another couple of minutes, staring at the man as if she could telepathically extract information from his brain. After continued fruitless attempts at mind reading, H.G. began to wander around the lobby.

"Agent Wells," a deep voice called from behind H.G. She whirled around to face a burly looking man, who was the epitome of the imagined Russian man. "I am Dominic Rodchenko, I run this auction house. I understand you have a question regarding a recent purchase made here?"

"Ah yes, Mr. Rodchenko, is it?" H.G. began, shifting into agent mode. "I'd like to ask you about the recent winnings of Alexi Koychev. It is a very important matter."

"Yes, yes. I have all the information right here," he said, handing H.G. a small stack of papers.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Rodchenko," H.G. said, flipping through the papers absentmindedly. "How was his demeanor?"

"Now that you mention it," Rodchenko began. "He seemed very anxious to get his hands on this particular item, then seemingly terrified when he actually won."

H.G. moved her eyes up from the papers to meet Rodchenko's gaze. "...curious."

 

"According to the hotel manager," Myka started, making her way back to Pete and Charlotte. "Koychev is staying in room 221."

Charlotte scanned the meager motel building's second floor, quickly locating the appropriate door. "There," she said, waiting for Myka and Pete's gaze to follow her pointing finger.

The three made their way toward the door, quickly at first, and then slowed as they quietly approached the door. Myka leaned into the window frame, trying to discern movement through the curtains. She couldn't make out anything through the motel issue curtains, and signaled Charlotte to the one side of the door, while she and Pete stayed on the other. Pete glanced sideways at her, she nodded slightly, signaling him to knock on the door. After two failed attempts to elicit a response, Myka retrieved the room key from her back pocket and moved to unlock the door.

"Keep watch?" She asked turning to Charlotte.

"Aye, aye," She answered with a salute, causing Myka to pause for a short moment of déjà vu.

Myka slowly cracked the door; she peered through the small opening and finding the room empty. She fully opened the door and stepped in, tesla grasped at her side as a precaution; Pete followed in with his Tesla held in both hands in front of him. After a quick search of the remaining space, they found it empty, but Koychev's possessions still present. The desk was covered in papers, as was the second bed. They searched against all logic for the lyre, though not disappointed when they couldn't even find a safe.

Charlotte was leaning casually against the wall, phone in hand, pretending to be texting, but keeping an eye on the parking lot and stairs. It had been a solid ten minutes, and she was starting to get antsy, never one for really standing still for long periods of time. She pushed herself off the wall, moving to lean against the railing. Rather than making herself look "busy", she took advantage of her height and young face, allowing herself to look like a bored teenager waiting on her parents.

After another five minutes of leaning almost entirely on the railing, Charlotte actually began to play on her phone. A flurry of movement in the corner of her eye pulled Charlotte's attention to the parking lot, where she saw a man she instantly recognized as Koychev stepping out of a car and making his way toward the staircase. She took two quick steps back in the direction of the door, and rapidly knocking, the intensity of the knocks growing with every step the Russian man took toward them.

Myka was shuffling through the papers on the desk, while Pete was trying to make sense of those on the bed. She was just about to get some of the papers in order, and she suspected Pete was doing the same because his mutterings had become less frustrated when she heard a quick knock at the door. She figured she had a couple extra minutes and turned back to the papers, hoping to commit some of the information to memory. She had just stumbled upon an itinerary when the knocks got louder and closer together. She dropped the paper she was holding, mixed up the papers make it appear as if she had never been there, and told Pete to do the same. When the room looked sufficiently mussed up, they made their way to the door, the knocking almost a complete continuous sound, then suddenly stopped. She looked out the peephole, to see Charlotte keeping Koychev away from the door, and trying to get his back to them.

When Pete and Myka had failed to come out of the room, Charlotte started to panic, running through different scenarios in her head to keep Koychev out of his room. She took a moment to weed out the more violent options, instead remembering how her mother fancied using her accent to distract people from various things going on around them, she had yet to try it, but she was getting desperate. ‘Well, no time like the present’ she thought as he passed a room two doors down. She stopped her knocking, and started walking toward Koychev, head down.

As planned, their "accidental" collision had caused the papers in his hands to fall and scatter slightly. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" Charlotte exclaimed, raising the pitch of her voice, while simultaneously making her accent a little bit stronger. She bent to help him pick them up, but couldn't keep his eyes on the papers, or her. While he was attempting to create order in the chaotic pile of paper, she pulled out her phone, sending a quick text to Myka.

_Get ready, outside in 2 mins._

"Thank you for your help," Koychev said, his accent so thick that Charlotte almost missed what he was saying. "I must get to my room now."

"Oh, do let me look you over," Charlotte insisted, flashing the smile she inherited from Myka, simply oozing charm. "My mother would be ever so disappointed in me if I did not make sure you were completely unharmed."

She saw his panicked demeanor calm slightly as he allowed her to gently grasp his shoulders and turn him to complete her "once over". Just as she had gotten his back completely toward the door, she saw Myka peek her head out, at Charlotte's nod, she tiptoed out of the room, Pete following closely behind, and quietly shutting the door. When she was certain they were a safe distance away, she patted Koychev on the shoulder.

"Once again sir, I am so sorry about our little unfortunate incident," she said, beaming at him once again.

"No problem," he mumbled, abruptly turning toward his room and quickly entering.

Charlotte continued to stand where she was, waiting for Myka to turn and look for her. When the inevitable move came to fruition, she motioned that she would meet them on the lower level to prevent suspicion. Myka threw up a minimal thumbs up in agreement, turned and continued walking in the other direction. It was then that Myka noticed Pete had drastically slowed, his face showing concern.

"Bad vibe?" She asked, grabbing his arm to stop his walking.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "A weird one. He's bad, Mykes. Freaked out. But dark, really dark. And angry."

"We'll get him, Pete," she said smiling, attempting to reassure Pete, as well as her own shaken nerves.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh scary dude's trippin up Pete's vibes! Will they catch him! Stay tuned for some ass-kickin action!


	4. Chapter 4

"Must remember to thank my mother for this accent," Charlotte mumbled as she climbed into the back of the rented SUV.

"That was way too close," Pete said from the passenger seat. "We woulda been boned if you hadn't worked that British charm," He finished with a wink.

"Well," she began in a casual tone, looking down at her nails. "It is customary to come to the door when someone knocks…"

"Okay, Myka 2.0," Pete half mumbled.

"What!? No…" Charlotte answered all too quickly.

Up until now, Myka had just been a silent listener, but this extremely adamant and vocal denial caught her off guard enough to join in. "Is that so bad?"

"Uhm, no," Charlotte said, obviously fumbling. "It's just that, you know, there's really only need for one Myka, and I don't want to seem like, maybe I'm trying to be better than you, or take your place or something."

Myka's only response was a soft chuckle and a gentle squeeze to Charlotte's knee. Charlotte kept her reactions and emotions in check this time, offering up a small smile, and then turning her face to the window. She tried to play it off like she was enjoying the scenery, in hopes to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Her Myka, her momma, would also squeeze her knee when she was teasing her. Whether it be her height, her mane of curly hair which misbehaved more than Myka's, or her unnatural love of green beans; it was always a knee pinch.

 

They were on their way back to the hotel in Moscow to meet up with the others; HG had the files she retrieved from the auction house, and while Claudia and Steve didn't find any incriminating evidence, they still grabbed a few suspicious looking files and two flash drives worth of information from his computer hard drive. They knew it would be at least four hours before Claudia and Steve would be able to join them, so they decided to convene over dinner and discuss their next move.

Over subpar room service, the group, save for Claudia and Steve, who were still traveling from St. Petersburg, went over all the information they gathered. This mainly consisted of Koychev's research on the lyre, similar to theirs, though lacking the thoroughness, showing the duration of its stay at the auction house, the possible worth and auction date. However, the mass of information they found once they plugged the flash drives into Claudia and Charlotte's computers once Claudia and Steve arrived, was alarming. The information contained on the small devices described not just the powers of the lyre, down to the tiniest detail, but the bulk of his plan as well.

Suddenly, Charlotte found herself pacing, and just then realized how cocky she'd been. Now that the solid inventory of his plans was revealed, she fully grasped just how important it was that they stop him. And they had to stop him; at any cost. The seriousness of the situation hadn't hit her entirely until now, and she was starting to panic.

"Hey," Claudia whisper, gently grabbing her elbow. "We'll find him, and we'll stop him. I'm sure if we get our hackin' on together, we'll find him before he even knows where he is," she added reassuringly. Charlotte offered up a less than confident smile and rejoined Claudia at the desk and their joint effort to decipher Koychev's next move.

 

The next hour proved to be filled with fruitless searches and uneventful credit card alerts. By the fifth time the entire group gathered around Claudia's computer for another room service charge; Myka decided it was time for a break.

"Alright," Myka said over the rambunctious groans. "We're going to drive ourselves crazy if we continue to sit here and watch Koychev order more pizza. Let's get some sleep and start again with fresh minds in the morning," her surprise evident when there were no protests.

 

Myka's eyes slowly opened against her will at the steady sound of typing and mouse clicking. Her sight first catching the too bright glow of the hotel standard alarm clock, reading 3:24 am, then continued their journey toward the origins of the offending sounds. Her initial feeling of irritation left her as she noticed the tired, yet tense, back of Charlotte, still hard at work.

She threw back the covers, pausing to kiss the palm of Helena's hand, halting its attempt to bring her back into bed. She gently placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder, lightly squeezing it as the young girl jumped.

"Hey missy," Myka whispered, in a light tone. "Did you think you were exempt from my bedtime pronouncements?"

"I have to stop him, Myka," Charlotte whispered back, her tone almost sounding defeated.

Myka bent at the knees and moved Charlotte's chair so the girl was facing her. "We will find him, Charlotte. And we will stop him. We always do," She whispered softly, moving unruly curls from the girl's eyes. "But we can't do that if you burn yourself out."

At Charlotte's slight nod, Myka stood up, and pulled Charlotte up by her hands, leading her to the second bed. Pulling back the covers, she gently smacked Claudia's flannel covered butt, causing her to instinctively roll over, giving Charlotte her side of the bed. She obediently lay down, allowing Myka to cover her up with the blanket before climbing back into her own bed. Myka settled back into HG's body, only allowing herself to fully relax when she saw Charlotte's eyes finally close and her body relax. Unsure of why she felt so protective of this girl, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and felt herself drift back into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a filler chapter, quick and easy. But are y'all really ready for some action! Some snaggin', taggin', and baggin'?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our genius hackers narrowed down Koychev's location! Are they going to be able to snag the artifact before all heck breaks loose??

Charlotte felt herself being shaken awake, as she opened her eyes, a blurry Claudia slowly came into focus. Though her face held a slight sleepiness to it, she could see the excitement in her eyes. The other made bed and sounds of a shower being turned off indicated she was the last to wake up.

"C'mon, Char!" Claudia said, pulling Charlotte out of bed. "We got a legit ping! He bought a plane ticket for Paris for 3 pm today. We have a 2 pm flight."

Glancing at the clock, Charlotte saw that it was nearly 10:30. "Why are you only now waking me?"

"Myka said you were up like mondo late," Claudia said passing her a coffee. "And she wanted to let you sleep as long as possible."

Charlotte smiled slightly at the consideration and moved to grab her outfit for the day; waiting her turn for the shower.

 

Though by now, Charlotte could nearly be a veteran of flying; granted nothing near Pete or Myka's standards, she still couldn't shake the apprehension of boarding the plane, then waiting for takeoff. However, at this point, she wasn't sure if the nervousness stemmed from the thought of yet another plane ride, or from the knowledge of what they were about to tackle. She may have been raised in the Warehouse, trained in martial arts, but that didn't go beyond the Regents and her mother. A lifetime in the Warehouse did not entirely prepare her for the adventures outside it.

H.G. glanced over at Charlotte, practically feeling the anxiety rolling off her and noticing the familiar way she chewed her lower lip.

"Don't worry, darling," H.G. said, gently patting her knee. "We'll get him. We always do," Charlotte lightly smiling at the sentence which mirrored Myka’s from the night before.

"Yeah…I guess I'm just not used to the adventure."

"Even being, I assume, essentially raised in the Warehouse?"

Charlotte nodded in apprehensive confirmation, "trials and tribulations of being a Warehouse baby; how often do you think they let me LEAVE the Warehouse?"

"Ah, point taken…well, just remember, you are surrounded by Warehouse agents. We will not let a single hair on that curly head get jostled," H.G. promised with a wink.

Her anxiety was slightly abated, but her psyche took a hit. Right now, she wanted more than anything was to be five years old, curled up between her Momma and Mummy, but she knew this was the time to toughen up and act like an adult. 'Time to nut up or shut up,' she thought to herself whimsically.

 

Upon their arrival, Charlotte and Claudia made sure to be the first ones off the plane; immediately opening their laptops while the others secured rental cars and hotel rooms with Wi-Fi. Despite the solid hour and a half lead they had on Koychev, they did not want to allow themselves to lose their alertness.

Again, once inside hotel rooms, Claudia and Charlotte sat at the desk and small dining table and set in their task of finding connections between Koychev and Paris.

 

After nearly an hour of search between the two women, twin alerts finally filled the hotel room.

"Shit," Charlotte mumbled.

"How many did you get?" Claudia asked her.

"Four, you?"

"Three."

"Shit."

"You said it," Claudia murmured.

"Okay, let's focus. There must be something more. What do these places have in common?" She asked, reenergized and moving over to where Charlotte was seated.

Once the two had their joint results pulled up on the screen, they began scanning all the information for anything that popped out.

"Yes!" Charlotte screeched, causing Claudia to nearly drop her computer, and the others to stare at her. "Look at the bank account numbers!"

"Yeah, they look the same," Claudia said in a tired voice.

"Nearly, but look at this," Charlotte explained, using the cursor to highlight the numbers and revealing a list of six identical bank accounts, and a final, nearly identical one, save for the last two numbers.

"Dude," Pete and Claudia whispered simultaneously.

"Well," Myka said, already at the door. "What are we waiting for?"

Charlotte quickly sent the address to Claudia's phone while the rest quickly packed up and headed for the door. The impact of where they were headed hit her full force, sending her into a whirlpool of anxiety and dizziness. She took a deep breath, attempting to rid herself of the anticipation filling her body and joined the others in their planning.

 

In the end, Steve was with Claudia, per usual, Pete was with H.G., and because of their work together in the beginning of the case, Charlotte paired with Myka. The plan was to start at different parts of the abandoned warehouse, meeting in the center at predetermined coordinates. The final step in the plan was to check all cell phones for service and battery life; the Farnsworths being kept only as a back up to ensure Koychev wouldn't hear it if he was there.

Myka and Charlotte took the ground floor and basement, Steve and Claudia tackled the second and third floor while H.G. and Pete controlled the perimeter.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps," Charlotte whined as they turned down another dark corridor. She kept her flashlight and small pistol trained in front of her, silently thankful of the minor training her parents allowed.

"Yeah, I kno-wait," Myka said, sparing a glance at Charlotte, then coming to a stop completely. "Where'd you get the gun?"

Charlotte's response was to lift her pant leg, shining the light of her flashlight on an ankle holster.

"Well, how long have you had that?" Myka asked, completely baffled.

"Since I was sixteen," Charlotte answered quietly, turning another corridor.

With no response, other than a slightly confused look, Myka followed Charlotte down what was hopefully the last poorly lit hallway.

 

"Man," Pete said with a shudder. "This place gives me the heebie-jeebies."

"And what, pray tell,” H.G. responded quietly. "Would these 'heebie-jeebies' consist of?"

"Boarded up doors, broken windows," Pete whispered staring at the scene around him. "Overgrown plant life. This is the perfect setting of a slasher flick."

"It does have quite the cliché appearance..." H.G. muttered as she carefully turned the corner of the building.

 

"So," Claudia stage whispered while peering through dusty windows. "What's your feel on this ‘Charlotte’?"

"She seems like a good kid," Steve answered offhandedly, peering periodically over the railing.

"Yeah," Claudia said inching her way along. "And evidently a genius, but is she lying? How do we know she's ACTUALLY from the future? Or that SHE’S not the REAL dictator and she's pinning it on Koychev?"

"First," Steve responded, coming to a stop. "You know I can tell when someone is lying. Secondly, no more X Files for you, Mulder."

"Yes. I know this. Is she lying?"

"About Koychev? No. But it seems like she's hiding something. Nothing dangerous, but I can't quite put my finger on it..."

 

Following a fruitless search of the first floor, and the majority of the basement, Charlotte was beginning to doubt her initial belief that this was the correct warehouse. Sensing her hesitance, Myka nudged her shoulder and used her head to motion toward a door at the end of a hall. As they slowly approached the door, the sound of voices became increasingly louder. Taking a steadying breath, Charlotte reached for the doorknob, finding it unlocked.

"Wow. What kind of evil genius leaves the door unlocked," She muttered, slowly twisting the knob, and opening the door. "…this should get interesting."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwww shit y'all! LET'S DO THIS.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlotte quietly shut the door, closed her eyes and pictured the scene behind the door. Myka stood by, confused, as she watched Charlotte, eyes still closed but now motioning to an invisible audience, with the occasional muttering.

"Eight, left," Charlotte whispered, finally opening her eyes. "Seven, right. Left, or right? I can go either way."

"Uhm...wha...right, I guess? No, left. Left," Myka fumbled, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to.

"Alright," Charlotte continued to whisper, unfazed by Myka's uncertainty. "They have their backs to us, so take down should be fairly easy to start if we do it quickly."

"What about the others?"

With an apologetic smile at forgetting this crucial part of the plan, Charlotte pulled out her phone, sending a mass text, which read "Basement. West Wing."

"Ready?" She asked Myka, eager to get into action.

"Shouldn't we wait?" Myka said, not entirely wanting to jump into a fight so outnumbered.

"Normally, I would say yes," she answered quickly. "However, with Koychev's obvious antsiness, we can't be sure how long he'll stay put. We can take a good number down before the rest arrive."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Myka answered, still hesitant, though seeing Charlotte’s point.

Charlotte steadied herself with a few deep breaths, rolled her neck, then slowly reopened the door. Myka quickly and quietly followed, finally taking the scene in for herself.

Somehow the men in the room had not sensed their presence; most facing a man, who she was able to identify as Koychev, giving a speech. She suddenly felt Charlotte grab her hand, folding it around her own, and then issuing a series of signs detailing her plan, causing Myka to push through her astonishment that Charlotte knew a method used in secret service when silence was essential. The plan was simply put; silent takedowns, as many as possible, fight off until back up arrives. Myka subtly nodded in response, then began her subtle stalk toward the left side of the room; Charlotte moving in the opposite direction.

Myka took a steadying breath before making her way to her first target. A muffled grunt brought her attention to the right and watched as Charlotte covered a man's mouth and nose with her hand, while simultaneously jabbing her thumb into a pressure point, instantly knocking him out. Recalling learning the same take down her first year of training for the secret service, Myka decided to follow suit.

Against certain logic, the two women had managed to take down the bulk of the group before Koychev finally took a pause in his monotonous speech, turned toward his lackeys and found only a small smattering of men, a pile of unconscious men and Myka and Charlotte standing between them. A menacing glare, followed by an enraged shout brought the attention of the rest of the men down on the two women.

"Uhm," was all Charlotte could get out before the 3 men descended on her, Myka, who rushed to help her, was faced with only two, however quite bulky guys. Myka used her shorter stature to her advantage, finding it easier to duck their blows, and deliver punches to their stomachs. After sweeping one of the guys to his feet, and elbowing the other one in the nose, Myka spared a glance at Charlotte, noticing that she was using what looked like Kempo, but with a twist.

In turn, Charlotte found herself nearly in a trance, allowing herself to completely focus on the task at hand. Though she felt some blows hitting her, she did not allow them to slow her down. Two of the guys were already passed out on the floor, bleeding from cuts to their heads and the last was slowly approaching her.

"Hey handsome," Charlotte said, sweetly. "Why don't you just mosey along, I'd hate to muss up that beautiful face of yours."

"Ditto, sweet cheeks."

"Sweet cheeks? Really?"

Charlotte took a moment to deliver a mock exasperated face as he slowly lumbered in her direction. When he finally stepped into any sort of normal human range, Charlotte kept her stance, not wanting to make the first move. As predicted, the hulk took a lunge at her, which she easily side-stepped, and followed with a kick to the back of his knee. She slowly turned, taking a moment to stretch out her muscles, training her hearing on the movement of the fumbling man behind her. She heard him getting back to his feet, a sound something akin to a growl coming from him. Keeping her eyes closed, she listened to the sounds of his steps as they quickly approached her. Once Charlotte had the approximation of where he was, she took a deep, low breath to center herself and kicked her right leg back above her head, instantly feeling the connection with his face. Quickly, she spun around, grabbed his swinging arm, twisting it and finally backhanding him across the face.

Myka delivered a final kick to the thug’s head, successfully knocking him out and dropping him, comically, on top of his comrade. After pausing a moment to chuckle at the cartoonish appearance, Myka turned to check on Charlotte, fairly impressed to see the young girl holding her own. She was seemingly taunting him, staying completely still, teasing the man that he would meet the same fate as the other men at her feet.

Myka had spent so much time watching Charlotte, she had failed to recall the fact that Koychev was still in the room.

"Shit!" Myka hollered as Koychev grabbed her from behind.

The yell caused Charlotte's attention to turn to Myka, allowing her to be grabbed by the man she was attempting to fight. She calmed herself enough to take note that the man wasn't guarding her legs at all. With a quick motion, she threw her leg back again and kicked him in the face. Once her arms were free, she elbowed him in the gut, then used his hunched frame to flip herself over him and on to his shoulders.

"Get off him," a deep Russian accent pulled her gaze upward. "Or she will die." Her gaze falling on Koychev holding a gun to Myka's temple.

"Get the HELL away from my mother," Charlotte snarled, her voice low and her eyes dark.

She watched as he pulled the trigger but heard the insignificant click of cocking an empty gun. She turned her eyes to Myka, receiving a small nod, confirming what she heard. She also saw the unmistakable confusion and shock caused by her previous statement.

"Wrong move, Koychev," Charlotte sneered. She then threw herself back, using the man's shock, and the strength in her legs caused by hours upon hours of physical training, to bring the man flipping back with her. They both landed on the floor with a thud, Charlotte grunting as her knees cracked against the concrete. In one quick move, she pulled her gun from the ankle holster and fired two shots at Koychev.

The bullets flew past Myka, close enough that she could feel the breeze as they shot past her, sighing as Koychev fell to the ground with a groan.

Myka bent at her knees, catching her breath before throwing a questioning glance at Charlotte. "MOTHER?"

"Uhm...yeah...about that. Could you not-" Charlotte began to mumble, cut off by the door flying open.

"Guys! We're here to hhhheeelp..." Pete trailed off, finally noticing the room.

"Stealthy, Pete." Myka mumbled, shooting Charlotte a "this is not over” look.

"Yeah, sorry," Pete answered, strolling into the room. "Adrenaline rush."

Just then, the rest of the team showed up; Claudia bringing up the rear.

"Whoa, what happened here?" She said, doing a slow turn to take in the state of the room.

"It turns out," Myka answered, straightening herself, pulling the neck of Koychev's shirt with her. "This one here is quite the fighter. And the shot."

"Well done," H.G. said, sending Charlotte a genuine smile.

"Thanks," she answered, motioning Claudia to help her up, after failing to do so herself. "We're not quite done. We still need to question him about the lyre."

"Let H.G. and Steve do it," Myka said, passing the collar to H.G. "Let me take a look at you."

Myka helped a wobbly Charlotte over to a chair on the opposite side of the room, while H.G. and Steve questioned Koychev and Pete and Claudia searched the room.

The two sat in silence while Myka checked movement and reflexes, trying not to cause any more pain than she was already in. The left knee seemed to check out fine, but Myka did not like the deep gasp of pain coupled with the instant tears in Charlotte's eyes when she lifted her right leg.

"Let's roll these jeans up and take a look shall we," Myka said, mainly as a formality as she was rolling up her jeans. "We're going to have a serious discussion about what you said earlier."

"Would you believe me if I said it was just a simple case of mistaken identity?"

Myka offered her signature no-nonsense face.

"Uhm...Freudian slip?"

Myka's face didn't move in the slightest bit.

"Yeah, okay," Charlotte mumbled, trying to keep a passive face, but hissing in pain when Myka was forced to pull the jeans over her injured knee.

As she suspected, the left knee held only minor cuts, but the right had already swelled to twice its size, decorated in deep purple bruises.

"Ooh, ouch," Myka said as she inspected the knee. "It doesn't feel dislocated, but the kneecap may be broken, we need to immobilize it. Pete?"

"Yeah, Mykes?" He answered, significantly closer than she anticipated.

"How much do you like your flannel shirt?"

"It keeps the cold out, but it's not like my soulmate or anything."

"Good," Myka said, rolling her eyes at his unnecessary exaggeration. "I need the sleeve."

Working together, they pulled the sleeve from the seams; Pete then held Charlotte's leg up while Myka tied it around her leg. By the time they were done, Charlotte was nearly sobbing and on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Hey," Myka said, soothingly while lightly stroking her arm. "You're okay, just breathe. Pete, this is bad. We gotta get her to a hospital."

"No," Charlotte choked out. "We need to get the lyre to the warehouse. I can deal with it. Get me ice and some drugs."

"Are you sure," Myka asked, only to be met with a stern facial expression that could rival her own. She took another moment to decide whether to override her decision but seeing the same dedication she felt for the job, she let it go. Turning to find H.G., maintaining her kneeling position to keep Charlotte's knee still. "How's it comin’, Helena?"

"We got it. Seems it doesn't take much to make Koychev here crack," she said with a surprisingly small amount of cockiness added.

"The bullet wounds helped a bit," Steve added quietly.

"No, I can walk," Charlotte protested when Pete moved to pick her up.

"Sorry, kiddo," Myka said, interceding. "I'm vetoing this one."

With a slightly exaggerated sigh, Charlotte nodded her consent to Pete, then allowed herself to relax in his arms.

"So," Pete said, gesturing to her knee with his chin. "How'd you manage this?"

"I jumped on this guy's shoulders," she said matter-of-factly, though suddenly exhausted. "And flipped him over with my legs…I just haven't practiced on concrete."

A whispered "badass," was the last thing Charlotte heard as she drifted off into sleep with a slight smile on her face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww yeah, our guys got that bitch!! And yeah, maybe stole a move from Xena. Because she's badass.
> 
> We had the snagging and bagging, get ready for the tagging...and some sweet, sweet Bering and Wells lovin'!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you liiiiiiiike. 
> 
> From this point on it's got more fluff than a down comforter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some post snagging relaxing! And the start of fluff-fest 2018!!

Though they finally had the lyre in hand, Myka found it difficult to celebrate with the rest of the team, her mind would not stop racing about Charlotte's unintentional confession. She knew the girl was trying to play it off as a mistaken slip, but she saw the look of guilt she had herself as a child. She also found herself feeling slightly perturbed by her detective skills, or lack thereof. Thinking about it now, she cannot even fathom how she missed it. Looking over at Charlotte, she could see it now; the hair, obviously, though darker than hers, was just as unruly as hers, if not more so, she knew just as much about literature as she did, and her dedication to the Warehouse was uncanny. With this realization, Myka's began to race even faster; is this why she felt so protective of her? Why it felt so instantly right to have her with them? Even now, sitting around their hotel room, waiting for their flight, the group laughing, Myka couldn't bring herself to focus on the vibrant conversation because Charlotte just **fit**.

"Hey guys," Claudia gasped, hushing all conversation. "Today is December 21st!"

"What is the significance of this?" Charlotte asked, slightly confused.

"Apparently," Claudia began excitedly. "The world was supposed to end today."

"And my presence here didn't alert you in any fashion?" Charlotte asked, her confusion growing.

"Uhm, yeah…about that…"

"Did you have another X Files marathon again?" Charlotte said with a wink.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Claudia mumbled, blushing. "I'm just eternally freaked out over another Walter Sykes shit-uation."

"Walter Sykes?" Charlotte asked, her confusion returning.

"Yeah," Claudia stated matter-of-factly. "The only guy able to take down the Warehouse."

"What do you mean?" Charlotte said, looking to everyone in the room, her confusion now hitting her full force.

"Besides reuniting H.G.'s consciousness with her body, essentially making her kill Tyler and nearly Myka, he actually blew up the Warehouse," Claudia rattled on nearly in one breath.

Myka sensed this taking a bad turn once Claudia mentioning the chess lock with her and H.G. caused Charlotte to tense up. Along with the final mention of the demise of the Warehouse had Charlotte completely rigid while creating another hitch in her breath, whether from the pain in her knee or the tears Myka could see pooling in her eyes.

"Well," Myka started, quite possibly a bit too loudly. "I'm starving. You guys want to grab us food and I'll stay here and keep Charlotte company?" Claudia and Pete were halfway to the door before Myka finished her sentence, while both Steve and H.G. gave Myka an odd look before following Pete and Claudia.

"So," Myka said after hearing the click of the door, then moving to the end of the bed and facing Charlotte. "No one told you that story?"

Charlotte merely shook her head at first, but quietly added "someone told me about the Lewis Carroll mirror incident when I was three, and I had nightmares for a month."

"So, we learned our lesson, then?"

"Evidently."

"So," Myka said, aching to fill the awkward silence. "Mother?"

"Mmmhmm," Charlotte answered quietly, her head hanging down, and picking at the bandage around her knee.

"Wow," Myka murmured, finding that actually hearing the confirmation made all the difference. "And your other parent?"

"Can't really tell you that…"

"Yeah, I thought as much. It was worth a try."

"A valiant effort at that."

"I need a drink…" the chuckle from Charlotte caused Myka to look up and give Charlotte a questioning look, then followed the finger pointing toward the door, from which a knock emanated. With another curious look, she stood up and went to the door.

"Your vodka tonic, miss," offered the young man holding a clear bubbling drink on a silver tray.

"Uhm, thanks," Myka said, awkwardly taking the drink and tipping him. Making her way back to the bed, she took a drink, then tipped the tumbler in Charlotte's direction. "Do this often, do I?"

"No, not really," she answered, smiling. "Only when I asked you where babies came from, when you had to give me 'the talk', and when I had my first date."

"Ah yes, seems about right," Myka said chuckling. "Well…what can you tell me?"

"Uhm well, you know my name," Charlotte started, earning a grin and a nod from Myka. "I'm 23…right-handed…" she paused to think, then her eyes lit up with things she could feasibly tell Myka without giving too much away. "I play piano, guitar and you guys let me take voice lessons. I technically have my bachelor's degree…though high school transcripts had to be fabricated in order for me to even get into a college. Oh! And we frequently have reading races."

Myka's face was alight with all this information pouring out, and the new person Charlotte had become when she wasn't forced to hold back. "What's your degree in?"

"English literature and computer science," Charlotte answered with a mixed sense of pride and shyness.

"Impressive," Myka said with a true smile. "Now, what exactly is a 'reading race'?"

"We pick the same book and chapter," Charlotte explained, a small smile growing on her face. "Then we write a page summary, and whoever has the most accurate and best paraphrased summary wins."

"That is probably the nerdiest game ever," Myka said laughing. "Do you play actual games too?"

"Well, Uncle Pete was absolutely  **appalled**  upon hearing about this activity, and thusly, enforced sports, video and board games."

"Sounds exactly like him."

"Uhm, mo-Myka?" Charlotte asked, her head bent low.

"Yeah?" Myka waiting in mixed feelings, first being warmed all the way down to her molecules hearing about Charlotte’s life, not to mention just how easily "Uncle Pete" fell from her lips. However, she was inexplicably saddened by the use of her name, despite the newness of the situation.

"Well, it's been a really long day," she started, seemingly doing an impeccable "nervous Myka" impression. "And my knee is hurting pretty badly…"

"Oh shoot! Do you want me to get you somethi—"

"Can I have a hug?" Charlotte whispered, almost imperceptibly.

"Oh, honey," Myka said, her heart breaking at the small voice. She jumped up and moved to sit at the side of the bed next to Charlotte and pulled her tightly against her. "You never have to ask," Myka whispered, feeling Charlotte finally relax.

Myka was momentarily alarmed at how right this felt; like she's been doing it for years. She was sure H.G. had just been a fluke, one look at that woman and Myka's heart was hers, but now she was positive H.G. was just keeping it on hold for this little girl; it felt like she was going to burst, and she was nearly breathless from the love that she felt coursing through her.

When she pulled away, the look on Charlotte's face was a cross between contentment and despair; something that struck a deep sense of déjà vu in her. It was something in her eyes that was so achingly familiar, but Myka couldn't quite put her finger on it. Before she could really talk to Charlotte further, the hotel room door burst open, food making an appearance before any sentient beings.

"Vodka tonic, eh, Mykes?" Pete asked, noticing the abandoned tumbler on the nightstand.

"Ya know…big day, cause for celebration," Myka said, with an awkward smile.

"Hear, hear!" Claudia exclaimed, pulling out a small bottle of vodka, as well as some apple cider for Pete. "Some drinky for you, oh young and gimpy one?"

"I'm more of a red wine girl, myself," Charlotte chuckled.

"Ah, we are one and the same, darling," H.G. said, brandishing a bottle of wine.

"Are you positive it is the proper vintage for such an illustrious pizza?" Charlotte asked in her snootiest voice.

"Well, aren't you just a cheeky little monkey tonight," H.G. said with a smirk.

"It's in my genes. It cannot be helped in the slightest."

Myka laughed at their banter, gave Charlotte's good leg a squeeze and crossed the room over to H.G. She interlocked their fingers and pulled H.G. in for a kiss, an exaggerated groan coming from Pete and Claudia caused H.G. to pull Myka fully against her, kissing her deeply; the laughter starting with Myka and quickly spreading throughout the room. Charlotte rested her head against the headboard and closed her eyes, enjoying this moment as long as it was present. If she kept her eyes closed, it was like she was home again.

"You okay?" Claudia asked, causing Charlotte to open her eyes and accept the offered food and drink.

"Oh yes," Charlotte answered with a gracious smile. "Just tired, really."

"Well naturally, darling," H.G. said, while doing the most graceful flop onto the bed anyone has ever seen, especially with her food and drink in hand. "That is what happens when you beat up all the bad guys and leave none for the rest of us."

"Well, we all have our cross to bear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next...more fluff! With a dash of fluff! Also, quuuuuite possibly, we earn that M rating! Heck yes, y'all!!!


	8. Chapter 8

The team ate in an oxymoronic slow rush in attempts to allow time to pack before their redeye flight back to the Warehouse. The conversation came and went, the mood feeling calmed and elated; a stark contrast to the bulk of their time in Europe. Charlotte felt like she was finally able to relax, still knowing that she couldn't allow her true identity to fully emerge, she allowed herself to become more immersed in the conversations and stories of the Warehouse; enjoying herself and laughing for the first time since her arrival.

 

"You have the lyre, yes, Pete?" Charlotte asked for the fifth time.

"For the fifth time," Pete said with a remarkable amount of patience. "It's in a Claudia original self-disguising static bag, between my work shirts and my play shirts."

"I am sorry, Pete," Charlotte said, for the sixth time.

"It happens to the best of us, noobie."

 

Though their flight did not leave for another three and a half hours, the group decided to make their way toward the airport due to Charlotte's injury; despite her many apologies and protestations, given to the point that Claudia threatened physical harm should she hear "I'm sorry" again.

Luckily arriving at the airport with time to spare, the group found their gate, grateful to be setting their things down.

Charlotte was ordered unceremoniously by Myka to sit and rest; propping her leg up on their stacked carry-ons, which she only accepted with payments of Cinnabon and a coffee. In record time, the group was back together enjoying a late-night breakfast together, despite having eaten just a couple hours prior, sharing some last European memories before the plane began boarding. While they chose an airline that allowed them to pick their own seats, they still offered each other minor farewells in the event that they wouldn't be seated together.

They were still clumped together once their group was called, Charlotte leaning heavily on Myka, moving with a slow limp. Once they made it through the door, Myka walked Charlotte to the closest exit aisle, hoping to get a three-seater for her, H.G., and Charlotte, she was met with a heavier set man, settling into the middle seat.

"Uh, excuse me, sir?" Myka said, leaning into the seat. "Would you mind possibly moving to a different seat, so the three of us could sit together? Our...daughter..." Myka stuttered, unsure of the allowance of the title. "Seriously injured her knee, and really needs space to keep her leg extended."

"Oh, I'm sorry, miss," the man answered, keeping his eye on his newspaper. "I have bad circulation, and can't have my knees bent for that long."

"Are you kidding, m-"

"Mom..." Charlotte started awkwardly, leaning on the side of the plane. "It's really okay, I'm sure I could manage. Look, we can all sit together if we hurry," she gestured toward Claudia and Steve, holding seats for them.

Myka took a moment longer to shoot her best glare at the man, who had yet to look up from the sports section, before heading to the back to the plane with the others.

"Take these now," Myka said, handing Charlotte three ibuprofen once they were seated. "The pressure from take-off and leveling out may cause extra swelling."

Charlotte reluctantly took the pills, already nervous about the implications of traveling with this specific injury. After taking the pill, she settled back in her seat, fussing and fidgeting in attempts to get herself into a comfortable position. At the third gasp of pain, Myka handed her book to H.G., then helped Charlotte turn her body, and rested her legs on her lap.

"Are you sure?" Charlotte said, hesitantly. "It's a long flight..."

"Nonsense, darling," H.G. said wiggling Charlotte's little toe.

Charlotte had just begun to get settled when the plane lurched, causing her eyes to snap open, and her heart race. Without batting an eye or looking away from her book, Myka gently patted Charlotte's calf, keeping her hand there for comfort.

Everything seemed to be going well, until halfway through their ascent, and suddenly Charlotte's knee felt like it was going to explode, her upper body shooting up almost against her will, startling both H.G. and Myka. Myka grabbed Charlotte, shushing her, rubbing her back and hair, trying the best she could to calm her down. She felt her own chest get tight through listening to Charlotte attempt to catch her breath through the tears and pain. She looked over at H.G., not entirely caring about the tears in her own eyes, silently asking for help.

"It's pain darling," H.G. whispered into Myka's ear while rubbing her back. "You're doing everything you can."

Myka took a deep breath, calming herself down, and continuing to rub Charlotte's back. After a few more minutes, Charlotte's breathing was beginning to slow, and Myka could few her heartbeat steady.

"Hey," Myka whispered into Charlotte's crown. "You doin' better?" After a minute of silence, she spared a glance at Charlotte's face, only to be met with a completely sound asleep 23-year-old. "She fell asleep," she whispered, turning to H.G.

"Possibly better than holding on to a cognizant memory of such pain," H.G. murmured before getting up and helping Myka ease Charlotte down into a proper sleeping position, then pulling Myka to her side.

Myka snuggled her face into H.G.'s neck, slipping her left hand onto H.G.'s thigh, but keeping her right hand steadfastly on Charlotte's leg.‘So, these are my girls’ H.G. thought as she watched Myka subconsciously rubbed her thumb against Charlotte's leg; the same way she would whenever she was particularly content. She could tell the moment Myka found out. She assumed it was right before their short time in the hotel, around the time they found and secured the lyre. Part of her was surprised that Myka didn't realize it sooner; for god's sake, the girl was almost the spitting image of Myka, but she also knew the unfailing dedication she had for each case, and she had a knack for missing various extraneous details which did not pertain to those of the specific case. She wasn't quite sure when she would break the news to Myka; she seemed anxious enough even using the word "daughter" and trying to pass it off as a type of show that she didn't want to scare her off. Whether or not she ever told Myka, it warmed her heart to see the two of them together, though it simultaneously filled her with sadness that she never had this with Christina, and contrarily gave her a sense of hope to have another shot at motherhood and seeing her baby grow up, and Charlotte was living proof of this accomplishment.

"Hey, baby," Myka said quietly, running a finger along H.G.'s temple. "I'm going to get some shut eye, care to join me?" H.G. looked into Myka's eyes and felt herself falling in love over and over again. Myka was hands down the best thing that had happened to her; she was her light in the darkness, and the fact that she was going to help her bring this remarkable person into the world, she couldn't wait to experience that with Myka. Laying her cheek on top of Myka's head, she gently held her hand, and let herself drift off into sleep.

 


	9. Chapter 9

The only thing she could see was the green glow of a clock ticking down, a blue flash followed by a cloudy barrier. Her mothers, separated by the translucent wall, sharing a tearful silent moment and finally, fire.

She awoke with a jolt and a gasp. Her shaking frame was pulled into a vanilla and sage scented embrace, and she quickly felt herself relax in her Mummy's arms.

"Does your knee hurt again?" H.G. asked, pushing her hair from her sweaty forehead.

Charlotte's initial response was a slight shake of her head, followed by a mumbled "bad dream". Judging by the way Charlotte was clinging to her, H.G. guessed this was about her and the Warehouse's demise.

"The warehouse?" Receiving another slight nod in return, H.G. continued to rub Charlotte's back, allowing her to gather herself and explain the dream, or simply to give the young girl the comfort she needed.

"Artie and Pete and M-Myka," she stuttered through gasping breaths. "Were stuck behind some kind barrier, and you were on the outside, and she was crying. Then there was just fire. Everywhere." She whispered out in a quick breath, tears streaming down her face with renewed fervor.

"That was indeed an unfortunate event," H.G. whispered, her cheek resting on Charlotte's head for a moment, she then picked her head up and used her fingers to tilt Charlotte’s chin up, their eyes to meeting. "But Artie fixed it. Yes, the use of the astrolabe produced some upsetting results-"

"Leena?"

"She was, by far, the worst," H.G. continued, resting her cheek back on Charlotte's head. "But we also lost Artie for a good while, and I had to be away from Myka for the better part of a year. However, in the end, we all came back home, and from what I can tell," she went on, playfully pinching Charlotte's cheek. "Things work out for the best."

Charlotte straightened up, wrapped her arms around H.G.'s, squeezed tightly, and placed a small kiss on her cheek. "Thank you," she said, offering H.G. a genuine smile.

"More than happy to, love," H.G. grinned, pinching Charlotte's chin.

"Well," Myka said, taking a seat next to H.G. and immediately taking her hand. "It looks like I missed a good chat."

"Just a bad dream, really," Charlotte said, with the shyness of having a nightmare.

"Are you alright?" Myka asked, her face instantly colored with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good now," she said, looking into a pair of unconvinced green eyes. "I promise."

Myka gazed at her a moment longer, finally deciding that she believed Charlotte without having to call Steve over.

"Well," Myka started. "We should be landing soon. How's your knee?"

"Much better than take off," Charlotte answered, taking a drink of the water Myka had offered. "More of a dull ache with added stiffness at the moment."

"Good," Myka answered, concern still stirring in her eyes. "Our connecting flight is about twenty minutes after we land, so sacrificing some dignity, Pete was going to carry you out of the plane to a waiting wheelchair, so we can haul to our next gate."

"I shall sacrifice my pride for the greater good," Charlotte said, bowing her head dramatically. "Not to mention greater sleeping arrangements."

Before Myka could respond to the cheeky remark, the pilot came on overhead announcing their impending landing.

"Fingers crossed," Myka said. "That the decrease in pressure will actually make your knee feel better. Or at least not worse..."

As predicted, the pressure in Charlotte knee began to lessen slightly as the plane made its descent. Just before the pilot turned on the seatbelt sign, Myka and Pete had switched seats, and less than a second after the seatbelt sign had turned off, Pete had Charlotte up in his arms and halfway down the aisle.

"Why thank you, Pete," Charlotte murmured into his ear.

"Anytime," he answered, smiling. "Don't think I forgot about those cookies you promised."

"Peanut butter with chocolate chips?"

"You're my favorite," Pete whispered to her after plopping her into the wheelchair as gently as he could.

 

Fate proved to be on their side, as the other four managed to arrive at the gate just as their group was called to board. Pete pushed Charlotte to the door of the plane, this time, allowing her to walk to a seat herself. Chance continued to smile on them as she managed to land six seats grouped together, with an exit row which allowed her the luxury of stretching her leg.

Once she was seated, Myka handed Charlotte three more ibuprofen and a bottle of water. While she was taking the pills, Myka took her carry-on, propped Charlotte's leg on its top and set a bag of ice she procured from a flight attendant on her knee.

H.G. knew that the ice and ibuprofen would only minimize the pain, so to distract Charlotte during take-off, she had asked Myka to give her the notes they had worked on during their initial flights to Russia. Papers in hand, Myka only released them when H.G. gave her a kiss, Charlotte smiled at the giggling couple, feeling a true exhaustion set it. Just as her body began to relax, she felt telltale lurch of the plane pulling away from the gate.

"Well, darling," H.G. said, turning at the suddenly tense girl. "I think it's high time we work on that charging coil!"

Charlotte, thankful for the distraction, turned as much as she could, without appearing too awkward, until H.G. playfully rolled her eyes, and pulled Charlotte's legs on top of hers once more. The two women dove into their work, barely acknowledging the movement of the taxiing plane. The only effect of the acceleration of the plane on the two women was the slight shift in their bodies as they discussed various circuitry and conduits. Myka leaned over H.G.'s shoulder to get a look at their work, only to be met with several complex drawings; almost all with a line through them. Myka was also glad to see that the take-off itself didn't seem to faze the women in the slightest, and as the plane leveled out, she saw Charlotte take a pause, eyes closed, and head tilted; the only true sign that she was in pain was how tightly she was gripping H.G.'s hand. A moment later, Charlotte took a steadying breath, slowly opened her eyes, and suggested several group of coiled wires, rather than single wires.

"Well done, love," H.G. whispered with a grin.

 

Six hours later, H.G. and Charlotte had a solid blueprint, with two backups, and plans to build a model size test run. The group was piling into the SUV, happy to finally be home in South Dakota (something Myka still couldn't admit to herself) and on their way to the Warehouse. Even though they all yearned to turn the car toward the B&B and fall into their beds, they knew an artifact as strong willed as the lyre needed to be immediately contained.

 

The drive to the Warehouse was filled with the lively chatter of H.G. and Charlotte bringing Claudia up to date, who seemed just as excited with this new prospect and the three ladies start devising how to create their model test run. Myka seemed content enough to rest her head on H.G.'s shoulder and observe the joyous behavior; truly happy to hear a lightness in everyone's tones, in light of their rough year.

The conversation died down as they approached the Warehouse, and upon arrival, everyone spilled out of the car, in need of stretching their legs, but also wanted to be there when they presented Artie with the lyre. Once exiting the umbilicus, they were met with, not only Artie, but Mrs. Fredric as well.

"Good work, team," Mrs. Fredric said, taking the lyre from them, immediately placing it into a containment case, and walking into the Warehouse.

"Thank you, and goodbye," Pete mumbled under his breath upon Mrs. Fredric's hasty retreat.

"Well done, all of you," Artie said, finally addressing them. "Now get some rest. We're hoping for a quiet Christmas, but you know how things like to act up this time of year."

With a mixed sigh of relief and dreaded anticipation, the team turned to go, though Charlotte lagged behind for a moment alone with Artie.

"Uhm, Artie," She said, hobbling toward his direction. "Would it be terribly inconvenient to call Dr. Vanessa? I seemed to have gotten a little hasty in the field, and severely damaged my knee."

"I'll make the call now," He answered curtly, immediately turning toward the desk.

"Thank you," she said quietly, making her way to the umbilicus door.

"Oh, and Charlotte?"

"Hmm?"

"Good work out there. This was a tough one," Artie said quickly and quietly, never turning away from this computer; though Charlotte knew him well enough to hear a small smile in his words.

"Thank you, Artie," Charlotte answered just as quietly, though a smile was plastered securely on her face.

Just as she turned back toward the door, Pete came barreling through, and scooped Charlotte up, ignoring her alarmed yelp.

"It was a long flight and I needs me some cookies!" He said speeding through the bright hallway to the car. Charlotte's only response was a full-bodied laugh and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yes, dear."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Artie compliment! HUZZAH!!!
> 
> Now...hold on to your butts and get ready for some Bering and Wells lovin'!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SOME FLUFF AND SOME LOVIN.
> 
> TW: Talk of Steve's death, the chess lock, and the Janus coin nonsense.

Charlotte was thoroughly passed out by the time they reached Univille; her leg propped up on the center console, and her cheek on Pete's chest. When they arrived at the B&B, Pete once again picked up Charlotte, carrying her toward the house. Myka immediately grabbed H.G.'s hand and with resting her head on her shoulder, walked toward the house. They were all upstairs before they realized they never set aside sleeping arrangements for Charlotte.

"Put her in my room," Claudia said, simply. "It's right by H.G. and Myka's and the bed is wicked comfortable."

"You sure?" Myka asked, concerned. "We can put her in my bed and I'll take the couch."

"Nah, it's cool. I'm just gonna go…" Claudia let her sentence trail off, letting her head tilt toward Leena's vacated room.

No one questioned Claudia as she made her way toward the room across the hall from her own; they all knew she had been sleeping in Leena's room since her passing. With quiet good nights, despite it only being 6 p.m., Pete gently placed Charlotte in Claudia’s bed, mumbled a final goodnight to H.G. and Myka and dragged feet to his room, barely making it to his bed before he fell asleep.

"Maybe one of us should stay with her," Myka said, gazing worriedly at Charlotte's sleeping form. "Or leave a note. So she doesn't freak out if she wakes up?"

"She'll be fine, Myka," H.G. whispered, pulling Myka's hand toward their room. "She's a big girl, and we're right next door. We can leave the door cracked if that will make you feel better."

Myka nodded passively, quietly following H.G. into their room. Before she knew what was happening, Myka was being gracefully, yet thoroughly pushed against her bedroom door, lips on hers just as quickly.

"Helena," Myka murmured between kisses. "This is decidedly NOT sleeping."

"Neither one of us said anything about sleeping, darling."

"Now that," Myka grinned, pulling H.G. closer to her. "I cannot argue with."

She pushed off the door, wordlessly moving them toward the bed. Once H.G.'s knees reached the edge of the bed, Myka nudged her on to the bed and climbed on top of her. Delicately laying her body on top of H.G.'s, Myka slowed their kisses, taking the time to truly feel them, and how perfect they could be. Pulling away, she took a moment to simply look at H.G. She moved stray hairs out of her face, softly running her fingers across her brow bone, down her temple, and across her jaw.

"I love you so much," Myka whispered into H.G.'s ear while slowly kissing down her jawline; her heart warming at H.G.'s contented sigh. "Please don't leave me again."

H.G. moved her hand to Myka's cheek at the slight tremor in her voice and pulled her face closer to her own, looking directly and deeply into her eyes, said with such reverence, "Not on your life."

H.G. slowly wound her fingers through Myka's hair, pulling her closer, while simultaneously holding her in place. Her other hand remained on her thigh, her thumb rubbing lazy circles. Myka released a delighted sigh as H.G. slid her tongue into her mouth. Without ending their kiss, Myka pulled H.G. up into a sitting position and began to undo the buttons of her shirt with apt fingers. Once it was removed, H.G. broke their kiss momentarily to pull Myka's shirt over her head; delighting in the feel of having their bodies pressed together. Myka took a moment to savor the feeling, before peppering H.G.'s neck with light kisses, while lightly scraping her nails down the expanse of her back. H.G. moaned and arched her back into Myka, silently begging for more. While Myka was occupied with her throat, H.G. wiggled her hands between them, making quick work of Myka's belt and jeans button.

Myka paused a moment, pushed H.G. back on her back and moved between her legs. Kissing her way down H.G.'s stomach, delicately trailing her fingers just underneath the hem of H.G.'s jeans before unbuttoning them. As she pulled H.G.'s pants down agonizingly slow, Myka followed them down with open-mouthed kisses and gentle nips. When they finally passed her ankles, Myka tossed them behind her, retracing her steps until she was once again braced over H.G.'s now thrumming frame. Being significantly less patient than Myka, H.G. simply ran her hands under Myka's unbuttoned jeans, firmly grabbing her ass, pulling her closer against her. Myka groaned at the crudeness of the gesture, but not quite satisfied with the limited contact. With some inventive hip movement and the aid of H.G.'s feet, Myka's pants were effectively removed and dropped on the floor.

"Mmmm," H.G. hummed, wrapping her legs around Myka's hips. "Much better."

"Agreed," Myka growled, rolling her hips and causing H.G. to moan.

"Please, Myka," H.G. whimpered between gasps. "Please.

"Please, what?" Myka whispered, never stopping but now dipping her fingers into H.G.'s bra. "What do you want, Helena?"

Sliding her hands down Myka's back, hands resting once more on her ass, her thumbs running underneath the elastic, then pulling Myka tighter against her.

"Take me, Myka," she moaned breathlessly in her ear. "Now."

Without halting the movement of her hips, Myka dipped down to place a kiss on H.G.'s lips, while unhooking her bra. When the offending article had been shed, Myka paused a moment to bask in the glory that was Helena G. Wells. She dropped down, taking H.G.'s right nipple between her lips and humming in delight.

"Myka, please," H.G. was begging now, though not unheard of; still a rare sight.

"Sorry, babe," Myka grinned up at her. "I got distracted."

H.G. eagerly lifted her hips to aid in the removal of her underwear and gladly welcomed Myka back to her. Pulling Myka's face to her own, H.G. kissed her deeply, slowly exploring Myka's mouth with her tongue. She reached around her back quickly unhooking Myka bra and throwing it haphazardly behind her. Swiftly turning them over, straddling Myka, grinding down on her stomach, allowing her to feel just how ready she was. Grinning at Myka's moan, she crawled down Myka's body, delivering the same treatment she received when she pulled Myka's underwear off. She moved up between Myka's legs and was immediately pulled down into a kiss by her neck.

Myka wasted no time in snaking her hand between their bodies, swiftly coming into contacts with wet heat, causing both women to moan in delight. She began with slow wide circles around H.G.'s clit, absolutely content to listen to her small whimpers of pleasure. Before long, H.G.'s hips started to rock or their own volition, so Myka decided she should let H.G. off the hook, so to speak. Moving lower, she quickly pushed two fingers into H.G., grinning at the groan from the woman above her. Judging by the look of sheer desperation on H.G.'s face, Myka knew she needed to finish soon, so she began to curl her fingers in H.G. and continue the tight circles around her clit with her thumb. H.G. had now buried her face in Myka's neck, alternating between muffled moans and not so gentle bites. Myka used her free hand to grip the hair at the base of H.G.'s neck, pulling her face to her own for a kiss. Myka pushed her fingers deeper while quickening the movement of her thumb, nearly desperate to feel H.G. come undone around her. She could feel the telltale signs starting with H.G.'s quaking thighs, the pulsing around Myka's fingers, to the increasingly shuddering breaths she was taking.

"Come on, baby," Myka whispered.

That was the turning point, H.G. shook and tensed, the sweet sound of Myka's name on her lips. After a moment, H.G. collapsed on top of Myka, completely sated, but still careful to not drop all her weight on Myka's chest. After taking a moment to catch her breath, H.G. managed to prop herself up on arms, staring down at the woman she loves.

"Thank you," she whispered against Myka's lips.

Myka kissed H.G. once more, while slowly pulling her fingers out of her. Keeping her eyes trained on H.G., she slowly slid her fingers into her mouth, making a point hum at the taste on her lips, a small smile tugging at the ends of her mouth at the look of undeniable lust on H.G.'s face.

"You, Myka Bering," she said, dipping down to taste Myka's lips. "Are a devil woman.”

Before Myka could fully comprehend what was happening, H.G. was sitting back on her heels, gently rubbing Myka's calves. Running her hands slowly up Myka's legs; her eyes closed taking in the unconscionable softness she found. When her hands reached Myka's hips, she felt a slight jump. She opened her eyes and looking into Myka's moved her hand lower, genuinely surprised at what she was met with.

"Oh, my darling," she moaned. "This won't take long, will it?"

She smiled sweetly at Myka slight shake of the head, and the deep blush filling her cheeks. She began moving her hand in slow circles and moving up to place kisses on Myka lips, her neck, and up her jaw.

"Don't worry, love," she said between kisses to Myka's throat. "I'm in no mood to tease."

Faster than Myka thought humanly possible, though her mind was a bit sluggish at the moment, H.G. was between her legs, running her tongue through infinite wetness. Myka groaned in joy, her body arching into H.G. Without any sort of pomp and circumstance, H.G. sucked Myka's clit into her mouth, periodically flicking her tongue. Before long, Myka was communicating nearly solely in moans and her body in constant movement. One hand gripping the edge of the bed behind her, the other one moving between scratching H.G.'s back, gripping her shoulders, and running her fingers through her hair. Highly enjoying the generous attention of Myka's hand, H.G. hummed, unbeknownst that the vibrations from this humming was all Myka needed, as the shocked moan and tense, arched body caught H.G. completely by surprise.

"I'll have to add that to my repertoire," H.G. grinned after Myka had relaxed into the bed.

Myka simply laughed, taking a moment to stretch, and then moved to sit on H.G.'s lap. She rested her head on H.G.'s shoulder and ran her hands up and down her back. She nuzzled her neck before dropping several kisses; each one followed with a whispered "I love you".

"Let's go to bed love," H.G. whispers into Myka's hair.

Myka nodded, then moved off the bed, and headed to her dresser, pulling out a tank top and woman's boxers.

"You're getting dressed?" H.G. mock whined. "But I worked so hard to get you **out** of your clothes."

"You know, just in case Charlotte has a nightmare or something" Myka started to ramble, another blush marking her cheeks. "I just don't want to go running in there naked…or something."

"Don't be embarrassed, Myka," H.G. said, crossing the room to stand in front of Myka. "I love that you worry about her. It is absolutely charming."

After she watched Myka pull the sleep clothes on, she pulled her over to the bed. She turned back the covers, and slid in behind Myka, immediately tucking her head between Myka's shoulder and the pillow, falling asleep almost instantly. It took Myka a little time longer to fall asleep, mainly keeping herself awake so she could revel in the comfort of having H.G. so close to her, after so much time apart. When she felt H.G.'s arm tighten and pull her closer, she allowed herself to drift off, a small smile on her lips.

 

Cries, increasing in their intensity had woken Myka from her deep sleep. Groggily, she paused for a moment, not sure if she had actually heard anything. When a deep sob came from Claudia's room, she was out of bed and out into the hall before she even thought about it. She walked as quietly as she could to Claudia's room, peeking through the door. After her eyes had adjusted, she saw Charlotte curled in a fetal position, shaking with sobs, though looking like she was still asleep. She crossed the room, sat next to Charlotte on the bed. She attempted to shake her awake, though it quickly proved that she was deep in this dream.

"Charlotte, wake up, honey," Myka whispered, running her fingers through Charlotte's hair. When that didn't work, Myka did what she always did with H.G.'s nightmares. She grabbed Charlotte's shoulders, turning her over and pulling her into her arms. "Wake up, baby. Come on, I got you."

"Momma?" She smallness of the voice, broke Myka's heart, nearly forcing her to tears.

"Yeah, I gotcha," She said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Another bad dream?"

Charlotte nodded, trying to slow her pounding heart, and stop the flow of her tears. She focused on Myka's breathing and the gentle hand rubbing her back.

"I don't think it was a dream," she whispered. "It was too real."

"Want to tell me about it?"

Charlotte pulled out of Myka's embrace, pulling her knees up and rested her chin on the top of her knees. "There were several scenes. The first was you, Pete, and Claudia in the forest, arguing over some coin. Then you said you wouldn't kill H.G., and then she was there suddenly telling you that it was okay, and the right thing to do. Then you were running up a flight of stairs after you heard Claudia scream, and Steve was dead. And then you were strapped into some device with some sort of ax hanging over your head, and you and H.G. were crying."

"Is that when you woke up?" The answer was given as a nod. "You know everything turned out alright, yeah?"

"Yeah, I do. It's just so alarming to actually see," Charlotte said, tears filling her eyes again.

"Shh, you're alright," Myka said pulling Charlotte to her once again. She lay Charlotte down, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, then scooted down herself. She bent forward for a moment, placing a peck on the bridge of her nose. "Go back to sleep."

There was an oddly familiar way Charlotte nuzzled her face between Myka's ribcage and the pillow, but the exhaustion pulling at her consciousness ended all thought.

 

An hour later, H.G. woke up in a cold, empty bed. Looking around, she saw the door slightly ajar and figured that something had happened with Charlotte. Pulling on a robe, she headed to Claudia's room; her heart warming at the sight she met. Her two curly haired girls, fast asleep. She tiptoed over to Myka, dropping kisses on her face until her eyes started to blink awake. Myka turned a tired, confused face to H.G., then looked down at Charlotte wrapped around her. Smiling shyly at H.G., she gently pulled Charlotte's arm off her and quietly slipped out of the bed. She took H.G.'s hand and walked back to their room, not bothering to close either door. When they got back into bed, Myka crawled over to H.G., resting her head on her shoulder, her arm around her waist, and her leg on top of H.G.'s.

"I love you so much, Myka Bering," H.G. whispered, pulling Myka tightly against her. Myka craned her neck, kissing H.G. deeply before laying her head back down and settling against H.G.

 

**Author's Note:**

> TELL ME WHATCHA THIIIIINK!!! The majority of it is already written, though under-going re-reads and revisions, but basically ready for posting!


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